Health Alert: 2 reasons why monitoring your heart rate is a must while working out.

Your heart rate is a good indication of your health and fitness so it is important that you monitor it during a workout. The two most important reasons for this are:-

Safety –Your heart rate target range should be calculated to take your general health and fitness into account. This is to ensure you exercise within a safe range.Some medical conditions and medications can alter heart rate. Therefore, if you are overweight or have a medical condition, it is always a good idea to check with your doctor before beginning an exercise program. There is also a greater chance of injury the more intense your exercise is. Click here to find a quick and easy way to calculate your maximum heart rate and training heart rate zones.

Success – You want to make sure that what you are doing is counting – you don’t want to be spending hours exercising with little result! To make the most of your workout, your heart rate needs to be between 50% – 85% of your maximum heart rate for at least 20-30mins continuously. As you get fitter you will be able to work out at a higher level of intensity, but with a lower heart rate. This is one of the ways the heart tells you it is becoming stronger and more efficient. Another way of measuring this result is by measuring your resting heart rate. When you see positive results this will motivate you to keep striving for your health and fitness goals.